Rahm Emanuel Dumped From the Chicago Mayoral Race

Rahm Emanuel got the wind knocked out of his Chicago mayoral campaign. Knowing his temper, I'm sure he cursed out more than a few people today. (Photo by Antonio Perez, Chicago Tribune, 01/24/11)

Reality hit home today for former White House Chief-of-Staff Rahm Emanuel. The big move he did back to Chicago to run for mayor seems to be in vain now.

An appelate court panel in Illinois chin-checked Mr. Emanuel on Monday with a 2-1 decision removing him from the February 22 ballot. They found that Rahm does not meet the residency requirements to run for the position. Emanuel was arguably the most well-known candidate for the mayoral slot, if not always everyone’s first choice.

Emanuel was renting his house in Chicago when he decided to return to the Windy City to seek the city’s highest office. His tenant, however, would not leave the rented home. This created a problem for Rahm because you have to be a resident of the city. He couldn’t buy another house and clearly he didn’t “live” there, so that’s how all of this got started.

But, hey, rules are rules, aren’t they? He can’t go around kicking people out of his properties just to claim residency.

When asked about the appellate court ruling, Emanuel had faith that a higher court would rule in his favor. He pointed to the dissenting opinion of the judge who did vote in his favor as proof that his case still has a leg to stand on. The next stop looks to be the Illinois Supreme Court.

Rahm Emanuel was a Congressman representing the 5th district of Illinois before he was tapped by President Obama to be the White House Chief-of-Staff in January 2009. He served in that role for almost two years before heading back to Chicago with his family to run for mayor.

Now, Emanuel may get to play house-husband and soccer dad a little longer if this mayor thing doesn’t play out in his favor. lol…

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JAN. 25 UPDATE: The Illinois Supreme Court granted a stay that allows Rahm’s name to remain on the ballot.